I played basketball at Wittenberg University, a small school in Ohio. My college coach, Pam Evans-Smith had been diagnosed with breast cancer in her early 30′s and fought it hard for many years. Her story was strikingly similar to Coach Yow’s. Pam was undergoing chemo again in 2007, and a friend thought of inviting her to an Athletes in Action event that Coach Yow was attending that May. She thought Coach Yow could give her a ray of hope. The night of the event, Coach Yow took time to visit with Pam and they took a photo together. It meant so much to me that Coach Yow met with my former coach and encouraged her!
That summer, Pam lost her fight with cancer. At her viewing, along with many other memorabilia from her coaching successes, I saw that photo of her with Coach Yow. Her time with Coach Yow had obviously meant a lot to her too.
The thing that stands out most to me about Coach Yow’s life is how she intentionally took time for people–not just family and friends, but even strangers. Coach Yow consistently took the time to make people feel important and special. And as a result, thousands of people like me have special memories of her.
Whether you knew her personally or from a distance, please share your memory, funny story or thoughts on how Coach Yow impacted your life by clicking on “comment” below…
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